They say they are happier, more productive and living the new version of the American Dream. Come see the future and share the best tips from Digital Nomads, and their year-round world travelling tools and experiences

It’s all about wanting and planning

Nowadays, freedom as a concept has become more valuable. We do mean valuable in terms of money, because the new generation of top-end workers is willing to give up steady housing and material goods, in order to have more free time and see the world. It is a huge turn on the way many people see life. According to a recent study from AND CO, 68% of independent workers who took the leap say their quality of life has improved without necessarily having an impact on finances. This is a major shift in mindset; we are starting to see a generation more concerned about living the life they want, where they want and how they want, rather than focusing on adding to their collection of material objects. Freedom is key, and most of the time the main reason behind these choices.

Not hippies

Make no mistake in this regard. The new generation of freelancers, digital nomads, and experts are a true work force who take reliability and expertise very seriously. The paradigm shift often turns into a generational gap in which elder people don’t understand, criticize and diminish the work of modern digital nomads. But when it comes to it, they end up consuming what the nomads produce, or even hire them. As seen in the Huffington Post’s blog; “I want to be able to work wherever I want, whenever I want. I want to be able to pick up my laptop and venture off into the sunset, knowing the work will get done and I will get to see some of the world’s most amazing places,” says Hannah Lamarque. This is what the Digital Nomad dream means to an entire generation that won’t trade freedom for money. The very notion of success is changing. Are Digital Nomads successful? Indeed, they are.

Save up for a new life

Life on the road can result in a rollercoaster of fun, but also can have some very dark moments. When that happens, the importance of having financial backup is critical. Like any other job in the world, freelancing is all about reputation, hard work, and being reliable for clients. There will be deadlines to meet, agreements to settle, creativity to invest and technology to get used. So, what would happen if your laptop breaks in the middle of your Mongolia trip? Stash some cash as an SOS to yourself. Also, natural disasters, drastic changes in the economy, or home family issues can affect nomads. There might be moments you’ll need a plane ticket home ASAP.

Technology catches up in awesome ways

As the world turns, the big eye of technology research & development is always watching. It is due to the financial interest of finding a brand new market niche, and making a ton of money with it. But it’s also related to the fact that those who make the innovations are mostly those who need it and will use it: Digital Nomads themselves.

Some of the best tools, pages, and apps you can’t miss when taking the leap

Here are some of the most crucial places to seek help when working abroad. Whether it’s couchsurfing or project planning, these are the essentials:

Project Management Tools: There are several pages to administrate your projects accurately on the go, keeping deadlines and delivery dates to hand while working from anywhere in the world. The one we recommend the most is Asana, a great platform that is mobile friendly, and will get all contributors in one place to check progress in different areas. Real-time graphics and insight information can be retrieved, and individual tasks, as well as overall progress, is always visible. As they say, “Everyone knows what they should be doing and why.” Trello is another great tool, a Spanish-friendly site with a cute Siberian Husky wandering around. It’s fully compatible with all imaginable devices, and power-ups that can be customized and added onto your working board. Trello can be used as a single individual, or for group projects.

Accounting Software: Since you’ll be your CFO, COO, and CEO, you need to have all your accounting in one place. It should be tidy, so you won’t miss any key components like invoicing, currency conversions, and expenses control. There’s software capable of doing all this, and much more. It is called AND CO, and is the most reliable all-in-one software we could find. The features are almost endless, but some key ones are:

Calendar integration: Do you already use a calendar that you love and have all the data there? No problem, it can get added and modified through And Co.

Invoice viewed alerts: Sneak in and see if your customer saw the invoice and is ignoring the pay, or didn’t see it yet.

Email account: A place where everything is stored, and from where you can even send physical letters demanding payments.

Accept payments globally: Integrated with Paypal and Stripe, you can receive payments from over 200 countries. The currency converter allows you to manage any kind of money.

Great Apps and pages: These are some absolute musts before you hit the road.

House Sitters saves a lot of money. Sit for someone else’s pet while they’re away. From a week to a year.

MyLocalCrime is made to give you all the insight on how secure or dangerous an area is. Just type the name in the box.

Nomad List is the place to look for nomad communities where you can bond with people in the same situation as you.

Couch Surfing is the ultimate bonding chance when you reach a new place. A global community of people wanting to share their house and experiences with newly-arrived visitors.

There’s a way to go before Digital Nomads are globally, technologically, and socially integrated into today’s world, but it is a growing trend that is destined to be more than a fad. A worldwide health care insurance, or a global passport to avoid hassles in certain countries, are some examples of the missing steps, but as time goes by, more people will join this great trend. As a recent study indicates; by 2020, 40% of America’s workforce will be freelancers. This means more than 60 million people will be working from their homes, malls, coffee shops, or anywhere they want to. As the freelancing community grows and develops further needs, more infrastructure will have to be created to accommodate them. The way we think of a job, working, choosing a career; studying, housing and living in general may be changing. Instead of arranging our lives around money, freedom is tomorrow’s currency and the highlights of our lives will not be what we have, but where we’ve been.

Is there anything important we missed in this article? Let us know in the comments below.